Friday, August 24, 2012

TSA Week in Review: BB Gun in a Book

BB
Gun in a Book – While we regularly find BB and pellet
guns, I don’t usually write about them, but this one was kind of interesting.
Why? Well, first off, it has the appearance of a real firearm, and it was taped
inside of a book! The book wasn’t hollowed out mind you, it was just taped
there. This was discovered at Fargo (FAR). Realistic replica firearms are
prohibited for the same reason that inert grenades are. They not only cause the
checkpoint to come to a halt when we find them, but imagine if somebody waved
one of these items around on a plane. There are many scenarios of what could
happen, and not one of them is good.

Oops,
I Forgot There Was a Pistol in My Pocket: A passenger traveling out of Oklahoma City (OKC) was removing
items from his pocket prior to walking through a body scanner when he realized
he had an unloaded .22 pistol in his pocket.

Items
in the Strangest Places –
It’s one thing to forget you had a prohibited item in your bag, but when you
intentionally try to sneak it past us, you could be cited or even arrested by
law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where passengers tried
to sneak items past our Officers.

Two knives were detected concealed
between a metal sheet and the nylon sleeve of the bag frame at Seattle (SEA).

A multi-tool was discovered
concealed in a sock that was filled with change at Tucson (TUS).

A knife was detected concealed under
the lining attached to the pull handle of a bag at Harrisburg (MDT).

A belt buckle knife was
discovered at Salt Lake City (SLC).

A pocket knife (a pink one!) was
attached to the back of a key with a rubber band in an attempt to conceal it at
Wilmington (ILM).

See “BB Gun in Book” above to read
about the find in Fargo (FAR).

People
Say the Darndest Things –
Here is an example of what not to say at the airport. Statements like these not
only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience lots of other
passengers if the checkpoint or terminal has to be evacuated:

A passenger at Honolulu (HNL) told
the ticket agent that he had a bomb in his bag. When the ticket agent
reprimanded him for the comment, he told the gate agent that he had a nuclear
bomb in his bag. Law enforcement officers responded and arrested him on a
state charge.

While an Officer was conducting an
explosive trace sample at Orlando (MCO), the passenger stated: “I hope the
residue doesn’t show up on the test.”

A passenger at Charlottesville (CHO)
stated he had a bomb in his shoe after he was asked to place his shoes on the
x-ray belt.

Inert Grenades
Etc. – We continue to find
hand grenades and other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if
something looks like a bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited - real or
not. When these items are found at a checkpoint, they can cause significant
delays to you and other passengers. I know they are cool novelty items, but
again, please do not take them on planes! Read
here
and here on
why inert items cause problems.

An inert grenade
was discovered in the carry-on bag of a passenger at Indianapolis (IND).

Miscellaneous
Prohibited Items - In
addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also
regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, brass knuckles,
ammunition, batons, and a lot of sharp pointy things. Just to mention a few…

Firearms - Here are the firearms our Officers found
in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday.

57 comments:

A BB Gun?! He could have killed half the flying public with that weapon of mass destruction. Glad you guys were there to stop this terror before we had another 9/11! That guy could have poked someone's eye out!! God bless the TSA. Every one!

Anyone with an ounce of brains would realize the similarity to a real pistol that could be used to force entrance to the cockpit. Once there, who's going to challenge the authenticity of the weapon held to the Flight Attendant's head. As a pilot, I say good job TSA.

CJ makes what I consider a very immature sarcastic remark about the BB gun. True, it may not hurt anyone seriously (but you might ask my cousin who lost a front tooth to one if he agrees)but it could cause a mass panic, and dozens of people have died from being trampled, and BB gun shooters have been killed by police who didn't have the time to ask what it was. I rarely have much to say in praise of TSA but this time they acted properly. My gripe with them has been a lack of communication, such as not posting a full list of things that cannot be taken on board. Last year it cost us $25 because my daughter bought a snow globe, and then when I returned from a builder's conference with free nails, I found myself having to give those up and submit to additional searches.

CJ, although the BB Gun itself could not cause much damage, imagine the chaos and fear it could cause if someone pulled it out and started waving it around. Most people will not be able to distinguish a BB gun from a serious weapon. As usual, it is the gun owner we need to be concerned with before the gun itself. It was very unwise to conceal the gun and attempt to bring it onto the plane. No good could come from it. It is not going to work as protection if that is what they were thinking. Just plain bad judgement.

Come on CJ, these folks have a job to do. There are a probably 100 scenario’s where a BB gun could cause something to escalate and cause real harm. Given the questionable intelligence of the person trying to carry this on, I could see it getting dropped and spotted by a L.E.O. Even though the holder might be saying its safe, its just a BB gun, but in the interim the L.E.O could responded with deadly force. An air marshal, similar reaction. I recall several cases over the years where a child has been shot holding a BB gun by a L.E.O. Now take a security sensitive location like an airport. Of course there are other examples, perhaps an elderly person on an aircraft having an adverse reaction.

There is a reason why certain replica's, look a likes, etc. are prohibited.

It was a poor choice trying to hide the BB gun in a hollowed out book. I don't want guns on a plane, but in reality someone with a gun isn't going to cause another 9/11 style attack. The person with the gun may be able to damage the plane enough so that it crashes with enough precisely placed shots. More likely the person with the gun may kill a few passengers before being subdued, but that has been happening on the ground lately. The pilots aren't going to open the cockpit door just because someone has a gun. It would still be a tragedy, but not the scale of 9/11.

Looking at the knives that were found is kind of humorous. That one that is attached to the keys is a joke. What is someone going to do with that? I've seen more dnagerous pairs of scissors (a permitted item) or knives in first class.

I saw an article this week about the TSA testing 4 different shoe scanners that would allow passengers to keep their shoes on. They didn't meet the TSA's standards so we will keep having to take off our shoes.

Why do we have to take off our shoes at all? Almost every other country (including Europe) doesn't require shoe removal. Their flights are as safe as ours. The shoe bomber's flight originated from Paris and not the US. Why is the TSA still requiring shoe removal when everywhere else doesn't?

The dangerous people in this world of ours are those who think they are above the law, smarter than others, ungrateful for agencies that try their best to protect them from harm. Sad we have to suffer such fools while the rest of us remember in sorrow lives lost, tragedies averted, how fragile and close we are each day to another attack upon our blessed freedom.

You left out a TSA achievement worth crowing about. The TSA deftly disposed of the Boston racial profiling fiasco by making BDOs spend four hours in special training. That, of course, intentionally fails to address the problem that led to the racial profiling. But it successfully reacts to the embarrassing disclosure while avoiding even the suggestion that anyone in the TSA did anything wrong! The sheer brilliance of this evasive maneuver can only confirm reports that Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Pistole were personally involved in crafting this response.

Despite the success of this response (or should I say "non-response"), it does send a very worrisome message.

It's clear that the BDOs whose wrists are being slapped did not decide on their own to conduct racial profiling. Someone in the TSA bureaucracy decided that BDOs needed to produce more "referrals" to law enforcement. We'll never know who that official was, or why they needed more "referrals." But it's most likely that they wanted impressive "numbers" to neutralize critics of the BDO program, and/or to justify expansion of the program.

We'll also never know exactly what the supervisors in Boston did in response to that request. But in setting the quotas for "referrals," they must have either told the officers to do racial profiling, or made a more oblique suggestion about how to improve their "productivity." Regardless, they issued the orders that led to the racial profiling. And we do know that 32 BDOs found those orders distressing enough to blow the whistle.

There was a chain of officials within the TSO who bear actual responsibility for violating TSA policy about racial profiling. They also acted improperly in setting quotas for "referrals," and in diverting TSA resources from fighting terrorism. But it appears that TSA leadership saw nothing improper about any of it. The only problem was that some disgruntled officers went public and made the TSA look bad. So sending BDOs for retraining was the way to contain the damage, while shielding the real perpetrators from any responsibility and the TSA from any accountability.

The message this posterior-covering non-response sends is that the TSA condones racial profiling and quotas, if it serves the TSA's needs. Anyone is free to violate policies and waste resources, if it advances the TSA's agenda. And officers can subject any passenger to intrusive harassment, and even "referral" to police, merely to fulfill a quota. If, as it often appears, the TSA is intent on earning the enmity and distrust of the traveling public, this response was an excellent way to do that.

This action could cause real problems if, as I've read, the TSA expands the interactions BDOs have with the public. Presumably, BDOs will be looking for people who act uncomfortable when approached, or are less than eager to answer friendly questions about where they're going and why they're traveling. Knowing that the TSA condones racial profiling and self-serving quotas is reason for even an innocent passenger to be apprehensive when an officer approaches them for a friendly chat. While that may lead to lots of false positives that the TSA can count as "successes," creating an increased level of fear and apprehension will surely undermine whatever ability BDOs supposedly have to spot signs of terrorist intent.

"CJ makes what I consider a very immature sarcastic remark about the BB gun."

I'm sure he's very embarrassed about that!

"True, it may not hurt anyone seriously (but you might ask my cousin who lost a front tooth to one if he agrees)but it could cause a mass panic, and dozens of people have died from being trampled, and BB gun shooters have been killed by police who didn't have the time to ask what it was."

Or maybe we could just ask passengers who were killed by FAMs for acting strangely. No BB gun necessary! I really think anyone carrying knitting needles is suspicious. I might have to take matters in my own hands next time I see knitting needles on an aircraft. People have lost an eye to knitting needles you know!

"Anyone with an ounce of brains would realize the similarity to a real pistol that could be used to force entrance to the cockpit. Once there, who's going to challenge the authenticity of the weapon held to the Flight Attendant's head. As a pilot, I say good job TSA."

But mostly not an airline pilot. As an airline pilot, a gun to someone's head is no longer going to gain entrance to the cockpit. I'm sure you knew that though.

Anonymous said..."Anyone with an ounce of brains would realize the similarity to a real pistol that could be used to force entrance to the cockpit. Once there, who's going to challenge the authenticity of the weapon held to the Flight Attendant's head. As a pilot, I say good job TSA."

Anyone with 1/2 ounce of brains knows that the cockpit doors have been hardened, so there is no forcing entrance to the cockpit. If you were a pilot like you claim, you would know this.

I believe these agents are much maligned & underappreciated. Have you forgotten 9/11? Blame the terrorists, not the TSA. They're trying to save your life.

Terrorists seek to harm their enemies by inducing them to waste their resources on "security." They may also seek to destroy the enemy's way of life, for example by eliminating freedom and openness in favor of an authoritarian security state.

Terrorists can't do that all by themselves. They need the enemy's leaders to be terrified so they'll react in ways that inflict the harm.

Terrorism is like SARS (the scary respiratory virus that struck a few years ago) or the 1918 killer flu. The virus itself doesn't kill the patient. Rather, it's the immune system's overzealous attempts to fight the virus that wreaks the fatal destruction.

The terrorists did something horrible 11 years ago. They destroyed two iconic buildings and three airplanes. But they didn't destroy a large chunk of the liberties and rights that make America unique among nations. Our leaders did that. We should never forget 9/11. But neither should we allow our leaders or the unaccountable bureaucracy they created to use 9/11 as justification for their arrogance.

The terrorists didn't turn flying from a symbol of our freedom into a privilege contingent on the satisfying the whims of "officers" running checkpoints where constitutional rights, privacy, and even human dignity are nullified by an arrogant bureaucracy that puts itself above the law. The TSA did that.

It's not the terrorists' fault that citizens who choose to fly must be patted down like convicted felons, irradiated in a virtual strip search, and subject to the arbitrary confiscation of belongings deemed "contraband." Our leaders chose to react to terrorists by creating the TSA, and then allowing it to empower itself to do whatever it wants.

There are many ways to react to terrorism. Some of them minimize the impact terrorists are able to make by (in the words of Bruce Schneier) refusing to be terrorized. Other ways magnify the power of terrorists to damage and disrupt, inflicting lasting harm even in reaction to failed plots. Unfortunately, the TSA is an example of the latter type of reaction.

The TSA, of course, would like us to blame the terrorists for everything we hate about the TSA. But the terrorists didn't write any of the secret rules and procedures that give them authority to strip passengers of their freedom, privacy, and dignity. The TSA did that. TSA officers may well be maligned, but it's only because they work for an agency that seems intent on earning the enmity and distrust of the passengers it claims to protect.

As I read thru several of these comment some are derogatory towards the TSA. Well I don't like the bureaucracy any more than anyone else, but the guys and gals I have dealt with have for the most part been professional and courteous. I travel with Firearms all the time and even I have made at least one “Dumb” mistake. While transitioning from BLI (Bellingham WA) to ATL (Atlanta), I had no checked bags…. And in my stupor I placed 2 malfunctioning magazines in my carry on to take back to GA for warranty replacement at the Glock Factory. Well the agents at the checkpoint did find these. They were courteous and Professional to my stupid act and delayed me for about 10 minutes while a report was generated. I did of course loose the $50 of “parts”. However I also learned that any Firearm part should not be “hand Carried” but placed in “Checked Bags” If I had taken a moment to think about this particular trip I would have FedEx’d the Magazines to myself and not taken them on the flight. Again I credit the Gate agents for being polite professional and courteous to me as the situation was resolved. Needless to say I won’t make that mistake again.

Four days to respond to the court order that you hold public comments on these policies. Any news? Or do you just don't care? I'm betting the latter.

Actually neither. As a Security Agency with unlimited authority to fight the Global War on Terror, they have empowered themselves to be exempt from any law or court order that interferes with their autonomy or authority. They've even empowered themselves to ignore the Constitution when it gets in their way.

If they don't want to comply with the laws requiring notice and comment rulemaking, they won't comply. If they want to ignore a court order to comply, they'll ignore it. There's nothing anyone can do to make them comply with either one. The TSA answers only to itself.

Anonymous said...Four days to respond to the court order that you hold public comments on these policies. Any news? Or do you just don't care? I'm betting the latter.

TSA doesn't feel the need to comply with legalalities. Remember when they threatened to make Texas a no fly zone when a law maker tried to make fly and frisk illegal? Their customer service in as many words told me they don't answer to Congress. I didn't feel the person I spoke with was taking me seriously so I said I would write to my Congressman on the issue. Instead their rep said there's nothing they can do for you. I said are you seriously telling me Congress has no oversight of your agency? Mysteriously the line went dead. Given the track record they've had so far I wouldn't hold your breath on them complying with a court order.

Armed robberies have happened with only a toy gun before. It is always better to be safe than sorry. If this had gotten on board and brought out into the open, it would have caused panic and an emergency landing, then the TSA would be ridiculed for letting this go through. Not all citizens are crazy but with society allowing people to be rewarded for not having morals, it is better to display what has been found and stopped.

"While transitioning from BLI (Bellingham WA) to ATL (Atlanta), I had no checked bags…. And in my stupor I placed 2 malfunctioning magazines in my carry on to take back to GA for warranty replacement at the Glock Factory. Well the agents at the checkpoint did find these. They were courteous and Professional to my stupid act and delayed me for about 10 minutes while a report was generated. I did of course loose the $50 of “parts”. However I also learned that any Firearm part should not be “hand Carried” but placed in “Checked Bags” If I had taken a moment to think about this particular trip I would have FedEx’d the Magazines to myself and not taken them on the flight. Again I credit the Gate agents for being polite professional and courteous to me as the situation was resolved. Needless to say I won’t make that mistake again."

Wow. Those malfunctioning magazines could have been thrown at someone and left a terrible bruise.

Tell me one more time why being treated "well" for doing something that represented no threat - carrying magazines, malfunctioning or not - is a problem that the TSA should concern itself with?

Should I be happy that the county sheriff that I passed during my morning jog didn't shoot me?

TSA officers are not trained to determine if a magazine is functional or not. The federal law states no parts of a firearm are allowed in carry-on bags. Let me explain this to those who are common sense challeged. Several different passengers could bring on different parts of a handgun and assemble it while in flight. And to all those who commented above about the BB gun....in the last 2 weeks TSA stopped 63 real handguns from getting onto planes in passengers bags. I'm not saying any one of these had plans to hijack a plane, but what if while in flight the passenger with the handgun gets into an altercation with another passenger and decides to pull out the gun and start shooting?? Ever thought about that? You anti-TSA people need to realize their agency was created because of terrorists hijacking several planes and using them to kill thousands of people. Since TSA was created the score is TSA-10(years) Terrorists-0. Yep, a shut out!

To all those posting TSA hating or bashing comments just remember this - you DEMANDED that the government make air travel safer and that another 9/11 type attack NEVER happen again. Since terrorists come in all shapes, sizes, religions, and nationalities (even the US) everyone gets screened so either live with it or rent your own private plane. TSA is a classic case of getting what you wanted and not being happy with the results.

Anonymous said..."To all those posting TSA hating or bashing comments just remember this - you DEMANDED that the government make air travel safer and that another 9/11 type attack NEVER happen again."

Where to start? First, no such demands were made by me, so your entire premise is faulty. Second, with an approximate 70% failure rate, the TSA does nothing to make air travel safer. Third, terrorism, like drugs, will always exist because it's not possible to eliminate 100%. Finally, hardening the cockpit doors and changing policy from compliance to resistance is all that was needed to prevent another 9/11.

The rest is a colossal waste of taxpayer money and does NOTHING to enhance security. If anything, the false sense of security it provides to some makes the rest of us that much LESS safe.

"TSA officers are not trained to determine if a magazine is functional or not. The federal law states no parts of a firearm are allowed in carry-on bags."

No, Federal law does not state this at all. Care to forward your cite?

"Let me explain this to those who are common sense challeged. Several different passengers could bring on different parts of a handgun and assemble it while in flight."

Could they also assemble, for example, a knife? A bow and arrow? You're cracking me up here.

"And to all those who commented above about the BB gun....in the last 2 weeks TSA stopped 63 real handguns from getting onto planes in passengers bags."

And missed an estimate 200 guns, based on the statistical basis of 30% detection subsequently validated by Congress in the November 2011 report.

"I'm not saying any one of these had plans to hijack a plane, but what if while in flight the passenger with the handgun gets into an altercation with another passenger and decides to pull out the gun and start shooting?? Ever thought about that?"

Oh my! Suspend everyone's Constitutional rights!

"You anti-TSA people need to realize their agency was created because of terrorists hijacking several planes and using them to kill thousands of people. Since TSA was created the score is TSA-10(years) Terrorists-0. Yep, a shut out!"

You sure are smart. I guess the record of the TSA against extraterrestrials is also a shutout, isn't it?

Well everyone here we go again. To our favorite TSA hater out there...

"No, Federal law does not state this at all. Care to forward your cite?"

If you google "federal regulations on transporting firearm parts on commercial airplanes" you will get more than enough websites to satisfy your quest to gain some well needed common sense. But here is a good one for you to start with:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6611608_faa-regulations-guns-airlines.html

To your assembling knife or bow and arrow remark... NO, you cant bring a knife blade or a razor broadhead arrow tip either. Those are also restricted. So you would be left with a knife handle (no threat) and an arrow with no razor broadhead (no threat) I bet YOU are probably thinking right now...hmmm, but what if someone were to shoot the knife handle out of the bow and arrow? Hahaha All you intellectuals out there probably got a chuckle out of that one. On to the next brilliant reply....

"And missed an estimate 200 guns"..."validated by Congress"

Now that's a scientific group of scholars!! If Congress validates something well then it MUST be true...That's as bad as saying "It's got to be true. I read it on the internet." Let the track record speak for itself. Zero hijackings since 9/11.

"Suspend everyone's Constitutional rights"

This one is easy to answer. Simply put, it is not a Constitutional right to fly on an airplane. If you feel a "Constitutional right to travel" then you can always take a boat, train, car, or horse. Of course there will be other federal, state, and local laws that govern those modes of transportation. I'm sure you will blog about them too.

And on to my favorite comment. "I guess the record of the TSA against extraterrestrials is also a shutout, isn't it"

Here's the fallacy in this common sense challenged response. You have to first live in an area where there actually ARE monkeys before you could test your "anti-Monkey rock."

So.....try again.

Funny how you use this in an attempt to debunk the ET comment, but don't respond to me about how much more common monkeys are that terrorist. That said, I'll still rephrase my argument to use an actual threat which is MUCH more common than terrorism:

I got this anti-burglar rock. Since getting it, no one has broken into my home, so the rock must be working.

I think anytime someone is trying to hide things like these - its not good. I do know two people different times and different flights (one a university professor and another a paralegal) who truly had forgotten that they had guns on them (they were really tiny guns) and tried to board a plane. It was not pretty and they completely accepted the consequences of what they had done. They ended up paying fines and doing community service. It clearly wasn't a joke to them.

After reading this it makes sense the amount of security the airports have. I felt safer flying on my recent trip from Germany to Canada then when i flew from Canada to Italy due to a feeling the Italian security in Rome seemed very laxed. I cant believe someone tried to sneak that on with them. Thank you TSA for your pursuit of safe skies.